The Dillon tribune., 1887-11-25
Gle 1inou !Gnbune.
A PANIC IN A THEATRE,
The Senseles+ Madness that Sometimes
Takes Hold of People.

The $enseles+ Madness that Sometime
Takes Hold of People.
II seems impossible when you lool
around ut gallant men and a,niable wom
On. sitting p!acidly at u play, that in &
moment, on the utterancc of one word
they can be turned into dumb, driven
cattle, scnscless. suicidal idiots. But it /.
so. Any night the auditorium of 1,
fashionable theatre may echo to some un-
fortunate note Of alarm. In IN instant
the gray haired banker, whose dignity
gave tone to his whole section, is walking
mp the backs Of women aud over the heads
OF children
At the Park theatre one night the
theatre that happily Was destroyed by fire
about three hours before the time when it
would have been packed by New York $
best people to witness Mrs. Langtry's
debuU, some dude. entering up the unsafe
and tort,lous stairway. threw his cigarette
through the iron grating of the steps.
Some accumulated rubbish! began to
smOlder, and a volume of smoke poured
into the auditorium. About half the audi
encc sitting there knew that the stage had
an enormous square opening drcc! upon
Twenty second strcet--a door not ten feet
from the level of the street. Every soul
IN the house could have gone over the low
fOotlights. crossed the stage and been in
Twenty second street in three minutes
time. They had oil entered the theatre
ny the crooked, narrow passage: they all
knew its miserable limits: they saw the
smoke coming in at that narrow passage.
tnd yet when some scared scamp near the
'loor jumped to his feet and scrccched
't1re:' they all with one accord started
10 the rear. regardless Of life or limb
luCkilt that niChf t.1,r nol;co
man, with the lungs of Il r:tentor. calmly
said: "l'hcre amt no fire: it's been put
out He grabbed the first lot Of mad
people and bodily put them down into
seats; but for a few minutes there was
the widest kind Of scrimnage. A well
known and ,lignitied citizen had sat in
high bred east two seats ahead of Inc dur
ing the performance. As the panic struck
him he rose. mounted owe the back OF
his seat ard started to wal. on the shoul-
ders o. somc fashiolably at,ire,l ladies'.
IL seemed an occasion for rcmonstrancc,
and l had slight but severe remark to
make, and made it with ;ln opera glass;
me OLD gentleman took the kindly hint
and concluded to walk on his legs in the
aisle, but he had made u fair start to
ramp TO safety over his fellow creatures.
Another time. in the Cosmopolitan hall. |
'''S IAeAS~ Ous NIoNVIu IOt q tlISL UlssnI OI
'ninstrclsy. There was low gallery run !
ming round the building, supported on n
series OF iron posts. During the evening
orc OF these posts slipped off the block"
and crashed through into billiard saloon
N the basement: the gallery in that par
ticular spot sagged. creake,l and some
beam split with alarming noise. In IL
moment all was excitement in the crowded
gallery. I was sittinga Il few feet in front
this spot, and being fearful the people
night Jump down on my devoted head. |
'ushed my escort, II very important and
'eif sufficient gentleman, and suggested
We get into two broad aislcs beside him.
where, If people jumped they would not
ump on us. | got no response. and I
night as well have pushed at the side of
hc house, he was SO immovable. With
level fronting eyclids'' he confronted
.othing and looked ut it steadily. He
iasped Il hard Derby hat against his
tomach and WAS as near petrifaction as is
onsistent with life.
After the alarm subsided and the per
ormance WAS resumed, it was discovered
nat my scared friend had crushed his hat
N his body rs fiat as 81 mustard plaster.
nd pressed the nails Of one hand so
enormously into the other that the blood
nd started through the cut skin.-Cin-
innati Enquirer.